Acording to They work for you
- Paul Flynn consistently voted against the Iraq war, while most Labour MPs generally voted for. Show votes
- Paul Flynn generally voted against use of UK military forces in combat operations overseas, while most Labour MPs generally voted for. Show votes
- Paul Flynn almost always voted against replacing Trident with a new nuclear weapons system, while most Labour MPs generally voted for. Show votes
but Blarite Liz Kendal
In his Blog he makes a attempt to justify this
I had a phone call this morning from a party member asking which way I intend to vote in the leadership elections.
Of course I know all the candidates well but I have never tried to persuade party members on which way they should vote. The Newport West Executive decided not to nominate. I have no quarrel with that. Members will make their own minds up.
My caller today asked why I have not declared support for Jeremy Corbyn. He is my closest friend among the candidates. I have spoken on more public platforms with him in recent years than any other MP. Tribune has forecast that I will be offered a star shadow cabinet role if Jeremy is elected! On all the key issues of war and environment in the Commons, we both always speak and vote on the same side.
Today’s Western Mail reports that Jeremy has just read the book Clear Red Water and enthusiastically supports its message. I wrote the introduction to the book and remain its greatest fan. (Below). So why am I not voting for him for leader? It’s because Labour is a national political party, not a pressure group. It’s futile being ideologically perfect but politically impotent. We can change the leader: we cannot change the electorate.
Alas now another Red Tory
There were small parties in the General Election who campaigned on the green and radical policies that Jeremy and I espouse. Their support was minute. Some voters backed us both Jeremy and I for our left of centre views. Most voted for our Labour Party ticket. It's a myth that there is an untapped reservoir of radical votes.
I would love to believe that a Government with Jeremy’s policies could be elected in 2020. It would create a fairer, more rational and peaceful country. The achievements of the great 1945-51 Government could be repeated. If only. Between the dream and the reality falls the leaden curtain truth. Sadly, I fear that the Government of Attlee and Bevan would not be elected in 2020. I write as one of only a handful of MPs who worked in the 1945 election. I was a precocious ten-year-old political nerd but the excitement and pride in achievement are precious living memories.
The party must have a chance of changing its mind on this vote with a fresh election in two years time. If the victor is as popular as the party then she/he would be re-elected. Meanwhile we have the deadly serious job of exposing the policies of injustice, bad science, greed and environmental vandalism of the present Government. We can best do that by uniting and working under the new leader whoever she/he is.
So is Paul saying that winning power is the only goal that we should abandon our belief in a fairer society because people won't vote for it?
Is he supporting Kendal because he believes the Blarites are right and only Red Tories can win against the Blur version?
Maybe he feels that having another right wing Labour government means that he can rebel on issues that he believes in .
He can then sit on the government benches whilst smugly telling us in his blog that his conscious is clear.
Can it be that rather than be unelectable he fears that Corbyn may strike a chord with the millions of disposed voters as the SNP did in Scotland last May.
He would then find that he is the establishment no longer having a reason to rebel and therefore becoming just another backbencher.
Paul Flynn may well be a Rebel with a cause but it seems that he either believes it is lost or is afraid of it actually wining.
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